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Chief Meister seeks $4,000 monthly contract with Logan County Animal Control and quarterly reporting

Lincoln City Council · January 28, 2026

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Summary

Chief Meister presented a proposed agreement raising the city's monthly payment to Logan County Animal Control to $4,000 for 24/7 coverage, including overnight and holiday calls. Councilors requested quarterly, Lincoln-specific performance statistics (calls, no-shows/unanswered calls, tags issued) and expressed staffing concerns; the contract still requires county-board approval.

Chief Meister presented a revised agreement between the City of Lincoln and Logan County Animal Control that would set the city's monthly payment at $4,000 to secure 24/7 animal-control response (including holidays and overnight calls). "The sum of $4,000 a month... I came up with based on review of previous contracts," Chief Meister said, noting this figure is higher than prior monthly payments and reflects an expectation of expanded availability.

Key contract language: Meister explained changes that clarify prosecuting authority — criminal cases would be handled by the county state's attorney while ordinance violations could be prosecuted by the city attorney. He also said the revised language makes animal-control response a 24/7 obligation, removing discretionary after-hours response language from the prior agreement.

Council concerns and requested performance measures: Multiple councilors raised staffing and performance concerns given recent periods when county animal control could not respond. Alderman Bateman and others asked what recourse the city would have if calls go unanswered; Meister said a breach-of-contract process exists and the city's attorney could be involved. Several councilors proposed, and the chief supported, requiring regular Lincoln-specific performance reporting: quarterly counts of calls for service from Lincoln, number of calls not responded to (no-shows/unanswered), and the number of animal-registration tags issued in the city. Council discussed having a county board liaison attend meetings to provide updates; staff noted the county had not yet approved the contract and that further amendments could be proposed to the county board.

Timing and terms: Councilors noted the contract is set month-to-month (renewable monthly), giving both parties flexibility to terminate with notice. The council placed the item on the regular agenda and asked staff to coordinate with county representatives to add reasonable, low-burden reporting metrics prior to final county board approval.